Budapest  - Seven out of 10 Hungarians believe political extremism is a dangerous trend, according to a poll published Tuesday by the daily Nepszabadsag.

However, only 50 per cent of respondents said they thought that any of the parties currently active in Hungarian politics could be described as extremist.

Furthermore, a quarter of respondents said they saw no danger at all in extremist politics. The poll was conducted by the Progressive Institute, a local pollster, using 3,500 questionnaires.

The radical right-wing party Jobbik won 15 per cent of the vote and three seats in European Parliament elections in June, campaigning on a nationalist and anti-Roma ticket.

If it repeats this achievement in the general election scheduled for the spring, it would gain over 50 seats in Hungary's 386-member parliament.

While 44 per cent of respondents said they would not like to see Jobbik in the national parliament, three out of 10 would welcome such a result.

Jobbik is behind the Hungarian Guard, a nationalist paramilitary group that has been outlawed by the courts for violating the human rights of Roma villagers during a demonstration against what it calls "gypsy crime".

One of the Jobbik's Members of the European Parliament wears his uniform to work in Brussels. (dpa)